Madise says impartiality is sole condition for presidential bid

Estonia’s Chancellor of Justice Ülle Madise says she could accept a proposal to run for president if she is seen as an impartial and experienced candidate, ERR reported. She said preserving an impartial image is her only condition.

Madise said she had repeatedly explained in her current role that she did not want and could not align herself with any political party, the opposition or the coalition. She said she had not put herself forward as a candidate or made any agreements, and had fulfilled her oath of office.

Asked whether the public discussion around her had changed her mind, Madise said it had not.

She said she had always stated clearly and sincerely that she was not seeking a position beyond her current office and had not nominated herself. However, if enough members of the Riigikogu saw her as an impartial and experienced person capable of fulfilling the role of president and proposed her as a candidate, accepting the proposal would be responsible, she said.

Madise said her only condition was that she not be associated with a single party, the coalition or the opposition. The Chancellor of Justice must be impartial, she said.

“I have been impartial, and the president of the republic must also be an impartial balancer of public life, a representative of the state, someone who brings people together, articulates their concerns, points to solutions and shapes a vision for the future,” Madise said.

She said the key requirement was that she preserve her impartiality and not exceed the boundaries of either the Chancellor of Justice’s role or the president’s role.

Madise said the question was not about a specific number of votes, and that she could not prescribe such a threshold to anyone. Members of the Riigikogu would decide whom to nominate and whom to support in a secret ballot, she said.

She described “sufficient support” as a proposal that did not come from the 21 members of one or two parties. Instead, it should come from enough members of the Riigikogu to show that she was viewed as an impartial candidate rather than the candidate of one side in a dispute between political parties.

Madise said such a proposal would need to demonstrate a willingness to accept her as an impartial balancer. She added that she did not know who would support her when asked for consent and could not speculate about how anyone would vote in a secret ballot.

She said receiving the required signatures would allow her to decide whether to accept the proposal. The central issue, she said, was maintaining an impartial image because she had performed her work impartially and to the best of her ability in Estonia’s interests.